Week 6 Discussion 2

Running Head: Research Design Analysis 1

Research Plan Outline
Shamika Cockfield
Strayer University
Dr. Brian Stark
Educational Research Methods EDU508
08­10­2014

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Educational research involves a decision to study or describe something. All educational inquiry requires that some type of data be collected, that the data be analyzed in some way, and researchers come to some conclusion or interpretation. The largest distinction that can be made in classifying research is the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research.
Quantitative research is applied to describe current conditions and study cause­effect phenomena. Quantitative approaches consist of survey, correlation, causal­comparative, and experimental research.
Survey research involves collecting numerical data to answer questions about the current situation of the subject of study (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, p. 29). Survey research is used by a variety of different groups. Survey research sounds very simple but there is more to survey research than asking questions and reporting answers. When constructing survey questions they need to be consistent and be clarified for respondents. With my research topic survey research can be used to survey preschool teachers. In my survey participants will need to complete a
50­item questionnaire that assessed multiple variable. The format of the questionnaire would use the following variables: (a) School Information (10 items); (b) Teacher/Classroom Information
(20 items); (c) Transition Practices After Entering Preschool (1 item with 20 sub­components each representing a barrier to transition); (d) Barriers to transition (1 item with 15 sub­components each representing facilitators to transition); (e) Facilitators of Transition (1 item with 10 sub­components each representing facilitators to transition); and (f) Information
Resources (3 items). Information obtained from survey will greatly impact my research topic
“The Effectiveness of prekindergarten programs on school readiness”. With this survey I would be able to collect data and asses transition practices from preschool teachers as well as identify

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assessed barriers and facilitators for transition to preschool. Rural and urban preschool teachers can have different views on transition practices in preschool and with this survey researched it allows statistics of practices to be viewed from urban and rural areas. The purpose of this study would be to examine the use of transition practices at entry to preschool for children in rural and urban communities and schools. The use of transition practices has been linked to higher achievement. The directional hypothesis that is that that achievement of preschool students that are exposed to more transitional practices is significantly different than the students who receive less transitional practices. It clearly identifies a relation or difference between variables
(transitional practices). The non­directional hypothesis is preschoolers who are exposed to more transitional practices have higher achievement than preschoolers with less transitional practices.
It states the direction of the relation or difference. The null hypothesis is that the achievement of preschoolers who received more transitional practices is not significantly different than preschoolers who received less transitional practices. Null hypothesis shows that there is no significant relation or difference between variables.
Correlation research is defined as research that involves collecting data to determine whether, and to what degree, a relation exists between two or more quantifiable variables (Gay,Mills, & Airasian, p. 624). With correlation research i would like to identify the observational measure of attachment strategies in the home, the Toddler Attachment sort­45
(TAS­45). In order for me to conduct this research i would first receive consent from participants. I would then classify attachment strategies for example A= Moody, unsure, unusual;
B= Avoids others; C= Upset by separation; D= Attention seeker; E= Independent; F= Enjoys company; G= Cooperative; and H=Warm and cuddly. Data would be collected during two 45

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minute home visits which total 90 minutes. Visit would be conducted when child is well rested and feed to get a more accurate data results. Toddler behavior would begin as soon as data collector arrived for home visit. The parent would be asked to leave the room and return in 5 minutes unless child begin to cry, video would be set up to record data as well. The home visit would include activities to allow data collector to observe child’s secure behavior. Based on information obtained from data collector we would conclude that TAS­45 security factors and the A classification would be related to the mother­child interaction, child social problems and behavior competence. This study identified variables generated by TAS­45 measure of attachment in Head Start programs to validate TAS­45. Evaluate associations between TAS­45 attachment variables and measures of mother­child interactions, child behavior and child expressive receptive language. The TAS­45 is useful to assess quality of child­parent attachment.
Its also important to note that results of correlation research do not suggest cause­effect relations but there is a positive correlation between TAS­45 security score and higher language scores, and lower problem scores.
Causal­comparative research attempts to determine the cause, or reason, for existing differences in the behavior or status of groups of individuals (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, p.
10) It attempts to establish cause­effect relationships among groups. Socially disadvantage children with academic difficulties at school entrance are increased risk for poor health and psychosocial outcomes. With my research topic in respect to preschool programs on school readiness it is my objective to test the possibility of participation in preschool program can close the gap in academic readiness and achievement between children with and without social disadvantages. With causal­comparative research i would select X amount of participants from

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birth and they would be selected randomly. I would follow up with participants yearly until the age of 6. Participants would be distinguished based on formal or informal childcare that is being provided. Children would be tested at the age of 6 on cognitive school readiness, receptive vocabulary, mathematics and reading. Results of research showed that children of mothers with low levels of education shows a consistency with lower scores than those with highly educated mothers. Among children of mothers with low levels of education those who obtained childcare and attended preschool programs obtained higher scores for school readiness, receptive vocabulary, mathematics and reading compared to those who were cared for by their parents.
Childcare and preschool programs are increasing in many countries with the intent of reducing cognitive inequalities between disadvantaged and advantaged children. In conclusion this research suggest that childcare and preschool programs could prevent underachievement among disadvantage children. The achievement of disadvantaged children who were provided with formal child care and participated in preschool programs is significantly different than the achievement of those who didn 't receive formal childcare or preschool this would be an example of non directional hypothesis. A directional hypothesis may states that disadvantage children who received formal child care and attended preschool programs achieved at a higher level than those who didn’t receive child care and participate in preschool programs. The null hypothesis would be that the achievement of disadvantaged children from mothers with low levels of education who attended formal childcare and preschool programs is not significantly different from the achievement level of those who didn’t attend childcare and preschool programs.
In experimental research, at least one independent variable is manipulated, other relevant variables are controlled, and the effect on one or more dependent variables is observed (Gay,

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Mills, & Airasian, p. 11). Involvement among parents have been correlated with children’s school readiness and achievement. Positive results have been found when programs simultaneously modify children’s environments at home and school, interventions include when parents and teachers are trained in the same approaches to interacting with children. In this study readiness center data would be collected thru the first year of this study. Readiness center program would be for eleven weeks and participants would attend three days per week for four hours each day. Parents would be interviewed on site and teachers would be interviewed by phone and they would also receive a questionnaire at the end of the 11­week sessions. Notes would be made by researchers in observations of Readiness Center. Data collection would be taken from kindergarten that had school readiness program. All kindergarten participants children would be given a readiness readiness task which would take approximately thirty minutes. The importance of this design for preschool child­parent readiness include teachers and support adapting programs with parent input, increasing the interactions between teachers and parents and relationship between adults is a key for success. The achievement of children who participated in readiness centers using parent involvement is significantly different than the achievement of children who didn’t. The corresponding directional hypothesis is that children who were a part of readiness center and parent involvement achieved at a higher rate than those who received readiness center with no parent involvement. The null hypothesis would be that children who participated in school readiness program with parent involvement is not significantly different than the achievement of children who participated in program with no parent involvement.

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Different approaches to educational research can be performed. All educational research involves a decision to describe something. All educational research share the same four basic actions that are found in the scientific method, but its not accurate to say that all educational research is an application of the scientific method. The type of research that a researcher selects would be based upon type of questions that the research ask as well as the type of data that is collected. The conclusion of any research should be that based on experiment that a conclusion can be drawn meaningfully and with validity.

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References Gay, L.R., Mills, G., @ Airasian, P.W. (2011). Educational Research: Competencies for
Analysis and Interpretation (10th ed.) Upper River, NJ: Pearson Geoffroy, M., Côté, S. M., Giguère, C., Dionne, G., Zelazo, P., Tremblay, R. E., & ... Séguin, J. R. (2010). Closing the gap in academic readiness and achievement: the role of early childcare Marie­Claude Geoffroy et al. Childcare, socioeconomic background, and academic readiness and achievement. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry,
51(12), 1359. doi:10.1111/j.1469­7610.2010.02316.x Griffith, A., Duppong Hurley, K., Trout, A., Synhorst, L., Epstein, M., & Allen, E. (2010).
Assessing the Strengths of Young Children at Risk: Examining Use of the Preschool
Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale With a Head Start Population. Journal Of Early
Intervention, 32(4), 274­285. doi:10.1177/1053815110384059 Murphy, M. A., McCormick, K. M., & Rous, B. S. (2013). Rural Influence on the Use of
Transition Practices by Preschool Teachers. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 32(1),
29­37

Pelletier, J., & Corter, C. (2005). Design, Implementation, and Outcomes of a School Readiness Program for Diverse Families. (Undetermined). School Community Journal, 15(1),
89­116. Spieker S, Nelson E. M., Condon, M. (2011). Validity of the TAS­45 as a measure of toddler­parent attachment: preliminary evidence from Early Head Start families. Attachment & Human Development, 13(1), 69­90. doi:10.1080/14616734.2010.488124 Running Head: Research Design Analysis 9

References: Gay, L.R., Mills, G., @ Airasian, P.W. (2011).  Educational Research: Competencies for  Analysis and Interpretation (10th ed.)  Upper River, NJ:  Pearson   R. (2010). Closing the gap in academic readiness and achievement: the role of early   childcare  Marie­Claude Geoffroy et al. Childcare, socioeconomic background, and  academic readiness  and achievement. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry,  51(12), 1359. doi:10.1111/j.1469­7610.2010.02316.x    Griffith, A., Duppong Hurley, K., Trout, A., Synhorst, L., Epstein, M., & Allen, E. (2010).   Murphy, M. A., McCormick, K. M., & Rous, B. S. (2013). Rural Influence on the Use of   Transition Practices by Preschool Teachers. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 32(1),  Pelletier, J., & Corter, C. (2005). Design, Implementation, and Outcomes of a School Readiness   Program for Diverse Families. (Undetermined). School Community Journal, 15(1),  89­116. Spieker S, Nelson E. M., Condon, M. (2011). Validity of the TAS­45 as a  measure of toddler­parent attachment: preliminary evidence from Early Head Start